1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to apparatus for applying surgical clips to body tissue. In particular, the disclosure relates to surgical clip appliers having a replaceable unit for storing a plurality of surgical clips therein.
2. Description of Related Art
In the case of laparoscopic surgical procedures, access to the interior of the abdomen is achieved through narrow tubes or cannulas inserted through a small entrance incision in the skin. Minimally invasive procedures performed elsewhere in the body are often generally referred to as endoscopic procedures. Typically, a tube or cannula device is extended into the patient's body through the entrance incision to provide an access port which allows the insertion of various surgical instruments therethrough for performing surgical procedures far removed from the incision. During these procedures, it is often necessary to apply clips to blood vessels or various ducts to prevent the flow of body fluids therethrough during the procedure.
Endoscopic clip appliers are known in the art for applying a single clip during an entry to the body cavity. Such single clip appliers are typically fabricated from stainless steel and may be re-sterilized for use in subsequent surgical procedures.
Endoscopic clip appliers that are able to apply multiple clips in endoscopic or laparoscopic procedures during a single entry into the body cavity are described in commonly-assigned U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,084,057 and 5,100,420 to Green et al., the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein. Another multiple endoscopic clip applier is disclosed in commonly-assigned copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/134,347, filed Oct. 8, 1993, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,607,436 by Pratt et al., the contents of which are also hereby incorporated by reference herein. These devices are typically, though not necessarily, used during a single surgical procedure.
It is often desirable to provide a multiple endoscopic clip applier that may be reused during successive surgical procedures. In particular, the internal structure of the instrument should be configured to facilitate and simplify disassembly and resterilization.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/515,341 now U.S. Pat. No. 5,695, 502 to Pier et al., the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein, discloses a resterilizable surgical clip applier which advances and forms multiple clips during a single insertion into the body cavity. This resterilizable clip applier is configured to receive and cooperate with an interchangeable clip magazine so as to advance and form multiple clips during a single entry into a body cavity.
Endoscopic or laparoscopic procedures are often performed remotely from the incision. Consequently, application of clips may be complicated by a reduced field of view or reduced tactile feedback for the user at the proximal end of the device. It is therefore desirable to improve the operation of the instrument by providing indication to the user of the progressive advancement of an individual clip as well as the depletion of the clip supply contained in the loading unit. It is also desirable to facilitate the complete deformation of a surgical clip prior to advancement of a second surgical clip.